A beetle in the bath!

I was surprised to see a small beetle in the bath this afternoon. I took it out and had a good look at it and it looks to be one of the Dung Beetles in the family Aphodius, probably Aphodius prodromus. What it was doing in my bath I have no idea as these beetles absolutely love the dung of herbivores, and Montpelier is very short of cows and sheep. It may have been attracted to my moth trap a few nights ago and been hiding in the flat since then in which case it could have originated outside Bristol. Who knows?!

Sparrows and Snails!

There were loads of House Sparrows in Station Road this morning, several collecting nesting material, others sat on the roofs. I estimate at least 20 birds were there - always good to see so many. Nearby at the station there were 3 or 4 Orange-tip butterflies and a Speckled Wood. A snail on the wall looked like a Strawberry Snail but I had no intention of eating it. A Common Earwig was on a dandelion flower. Nearby at Fairlawn Road there were several Honeybees and another Nomad Bee.

House Sparrow

Strawberry Snail

I had a pathetic night as far as the moth trap was concerned, just two moths - a Pale Mottled Willow and a micro-moth which I tentatively identified as an Ephestia species and which, to my relief, the experts on Facebook confirmed.

Pale Mottled Willow

Ephestia

St Andrews Park!

A pleasant hour in the park this morning produced Large Red Damselfly, the hoverflies Eupeodes corollae and Myathropa florea, a Nomad bee and a Yellow Dung Fly. A Jay gave a brief appearance.

Jay

Yellow Dung Fly

Eupeodes corollae

Myathropa florea

Nomad Bee

Fairlawn Road produced a Xysticus cristata Crab Spider and an Anthomyia fly. A wall along Richmond Road had some Maidenhair Spleenwort growing on it.

Maidenhair Spleenwort

I found another new moth in the flat this morning which must have been hiding yesterday - a Currant Pug!

Currant Pug

Moffs!

The moth trap produced very few moths this morning but there were three new species for me!
Iron Prominent 1 (new)
Powdered Quaker 1 (new)
Muslin Moth 2 (new)
Angle Shades 1
Hebrew Character 1
Double-striped Pug 1
Tachystola acroxantha 3+

Muslin Moth

Tachystola acroxantha

Angle Shades

Hebrew Character

Double-striped Pug

Powdered Quaker

Iron Prominent

St Andrews Park!

A very enjoyable half an hour in the meadow this morning paid dividends with lots of great insects on show. These included a Red Mason Bee, a Hairy-footed Flower-bee, a Large Red Damselfly, a Nomada bee, Large White, Orange-tip and Speckled Wood butterflies, and the hoverflies Syrphus, Epistrophe eligans and Melanostoma. A pair of Coal Tits were feeding in the pine tree overhead.

Orange-tip

Large Red Damselfly

Syrphus

Epistrophe eligans

Hairy-footed Flower-bee

Red Mason Bee

Large White

Speckled Wood

Narroways!

A fabulous couple of hours on the reserve this morning. It was great to see my first Large Red Damselfly of the year near the cutting, along with a female Orange-tip butterfly and a Speckled Wood. Hoverflies included my first ever Neoascia (very small with a wasp-like 'waist'), a Cheilosia pagana, Eristalis pertinax and my first Rhingia rostrata of the year. Amazingly, two different Nomad Bees occupied the same spot along the stony path, a Gooden's Nomad Bee and a more tricky species best left as Nomada sp.

Large Red Damselfly

Cheilosia pagana

Neoascia

Gooden's Nomad Bee

Nomada sp.

Eristalis pertinax

Female Orange-tip

Birds included singing Blackcaps and a Chiffchaff plus a very bold Jay. The Raven pair were very active overhead.

Jay

Back in Montpelier I was delighted to see a Crab Spider Xysticus cristata, a Holly Blue butterfly and, best of all, my very first ever Velvet Mite!

Xysticus cristata Crab Spider

Velvet Mite

I was greeted in the bathroom by a Carabid beetle of the family Amara. It was trying to get out of a window so I released it after a short photo session.

Amara beetle

St Andrews Park!

I have been watching three Dunnocks chasing each other endlessly around the garden. Dunnocks have an incredibly complicated sex life and so I was not surprised there were three individuals involved!

Dunnock

In St Andrews Park it was nice to see the Wild Garlic in flower and there was a large patch of Comfrey which I've never seen in that spot before.

Comfrey

Wild Garlic

A Grey Squirrel, a Robin and a male Blackbird carrying food were the other highlights. I had a look at the dead wood habitat and saw a tiny centipede which was so fast I couldn't get a decent photo of it. In the meadow area there was a Buff-tailed Bumblebee feeding on the White Deadnettle flowers.

Buff-tailed/White-tailed Bumblebee

Grey Squirrel

Spot the Centipede!

Robin

Ravens and Raspberry Beetles!

I took a wander up to Fairlawn Road again today where the verge was buzzing with Honeybees and Buff-tailed Bumblebees. In among the buttercups were a couple of Pollen Beetles of the Byturus family, commonly called Raspberry Beetles. Their larvae feed on the stalk-ends of the raspberry fruits but in spring the adults feed on pollen. Also a brief glimpse of a Epistrophe eligans hoverfly which disappeared before I could take a shot. Also a Mining Bee nearby which I can't even attempt to identify.

Raspberry Beetle

Overhead a pair of Ravens were soaring, and when they came too close to a Carrion Crow's nest the crow chased after them making a particularly loud strangled call almost like a Mallard duck!

Raven

Crows and Pigeons!

If there's one thing the current lockdown rules encourage us to do it's to take more of an interest in the wildlife around us. Today in the garden a magnificent pair of Carrion Crows dropped in, probably looking for songbird nests to raid, and a Jay flew over the flat. At Fairlawn Road a rather handsome Feral Pigeon was strutting his or her stuff and a Blackcap and Chiffchaff were singing.

Carrion Crow

Feral Pigeon

 Insects on the patch today included Honeybees and a Platycheirus hoverfly.

Honeybee

Platycheirus hoverfly